White House petitions require 25,000 signatures to warrant an official response from the Obama administration, putting Morgan well over and Gregory within sight. Nevertheless, both petitions can feel so ridiculous that it's hard to imagine the White House actually responding.

Which begs the question: Do White House petitions actually matter?

White House spokesman Matt Lehrich says they do. He emails POLITICO:

Every petition that crosses the threshold is reviewed by White House staff and receives a response. As a general practice, we don't comment on the substance of those responses before they're issued to the petitioners. While some petitions may seem less serious, many have substantively affected policy debates in Washington. Ultimately We the People has given millions of Americans an opportunity for the Administration to address issues they care about, which is an important part of the democracy Americans deserve.

Some petitions have received legitimate responses, including gun violence petitions in the wake of the Newtown, Conn., shooting and the petitions surrounding the SOPA and PIPA piracy acts.

But the Morgan and Gregory petitions are a different matter, and it's hard to imagine anything will come of them — especially because the White House has ways of getting around it. Something journalists know that many petition signers may not: "No comment" is still a response.